Jo calls for good quality, tailored support to help incapacity benefit claimants back to work
January 26, 2006 4:42 PM
Jo Swinson MP has called on the Government to do more to help incapacity benefit claimants back into work, following the publication earlier this week of new Government welfare reform proposals.
Figures show that 2,200 people in East Dunbartonshire are currently in receipt of incapacity benefit. Of these people, 90% have been claiming the benefit for at least 2 years.
Commenting on the welfare reform proposals, Jo said:
"Within a year of coming to power, Labour published a Welfare Reform Green Paper and talked about tackling the rising number of people on incapacity benefit. Eight years on we are in exactly the same position.
"The strategy set out by the Government today is welcome, but it will not be easy to deliver. The grim statistics show that if you are on the benefit for more than two years, you are more likely to die or retire than return to work.
"I will be looking at the Government's proposals in detail in order to make sure that the 2,200 incapacity benefit claimants in East Dunbartonshire are given good quality support, individually tailored to meet their needs. Special attention must be paid to the 36% of cases in which claimants have mental or behavioural disorders."
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